This Financial Times piece describes a joint project by US-based Kaplan (a subsidiary of the Washington Post Company) and The University of Essex. The concept seems similar to the one I was involved in setting up in the late 90's, with The University of Liverpool (today:
Laureate Online Education B.V.). I'll be curious to track this collaboration. The FT's tone is somewhat skeptic about such ventures when "students never meet a tutor". In my experience, online students meet their tutors (instructors) much more often than in face-to-face teaching, though it is true that the meeting takes place in cyberspace. Note the quote
"Commenting on the Kaplan deal with Essex, Sally Hunt, joint general
secretary of the University and College Union, said there was no
guarantee that standards could be maintained if a university lost
control of academic provision."<snip>"Many students not following a 'traditional' route to higher education often need more support than teenagers moving away to university.
Returning to education is an incredibly big decision for many people to
take and it is absolutely vital that the necessary support is in place
so students complete their courses and standards are maintained," she
said.
It is my experience that the support Sally Hunt talks about, that extra support working professionals need, is exactly the type of support that private enterprises are better at providing than traditional academic institutions. So, assuming that, like the U of Liverpool, U of Essex is maintaining the full responsibility for Quality Assurance of its online programs, then I see no need to criticize the deal. On the contrary. Building such a QA system is not a trivial endeavour, but it has been accomplished in the past. And, once it is in place, all parties involved can work in synergy, and benefit greatly: the students, the university, and the private company.
